Lullabies and Lippies

In honor of National Lipstick Day today, I think it's only proper that I do a post on my favorite lipstick. Am I right or right? :)

These days, my make-up routine is very basic. I literally do the same thing day after day after day after week after week after week. I've been focusing more on obsessed with skincare!

You know how they say it's always nice to switch things up to keep things interesting? The same could be said for one's skincare regimen! I think we all need to update our skincare regimen from time to time to keep it from plateauing and to make sure we adapt to our skin's changing needs.

Over the years, I've tried several skincare systems/products from Clinique to Bobbi Brown to Shu Uemura to Shiseido. I mean, they did work, for a while, but not as good as I had hoped for them to. And I wanted so so so bad for them to work their magic on me because they did cost a lot of money. The skincare angels must have heard my plea because I think I have finally found the skincare line for me - V&M Naturals. Finally, a skincare line that: a.) uses only the most natural ingredients (no harsh chemicals here, only the good stuff!), b.) is a local brand (hooraaayyy, Pinoy Pride!), and c.) ACTUALLY WORKS FOR ME!


I was introduced to this brand late last year by my friend Andi who happens to be a reseller of V&M Naturals products. At first, I was skeptical because how could products that use ZERO chemicals fix my skin issues? So I tried out their products, a few at a time, slowly. And now, I'm a believer!

So, after an almost five-month blogging hiatus, I'm super duper excited to share with you some of my fave products from V&M:

1. Bare It All Body Cream (non-minty version)
Living in the Philippines where it's always so hot and humid, I think I've grown allergic to even just the sound of body creams. Typically, body creams are thick, sticky, goopy, and they make you feel greasy all over, right? Not this one! I put this on right after taking a shower and it never feels sticky. Never. It sinks into your skin immediately and doesn't leave a greasy film on. It leaves your skin feeling super nice and moisturized and yummy-smelling too! They also sell a minty version which I hear gives a cooling sensation too when applied.


2. CPC+G Whitening Oil
CPC+G stands for Clair Blanche - Papain - Calamansi plus Glutathione! Never been a fan of whitening products for my body, but sometimes I will add in a couple of drops of this stuff with my Bare It All Body Cream to help fade any scars or discolorations on my arms or legs. I use this mainly to spot treat any dark spots/acne scars on my face. Because it's a mixture of natural oils, happy to report that it hasn't irritated my skin in any way. shape or form. I know typical whitening creams/serums in the market will often leave your face red and inflamed - nope, nope! None of that with this one. :)


3. Happy Pores Cucumber Toner
For many years, I've used the toner from the Clinique 3-Step Skincare System. I thought that was okay, but I would sometimes notice subtle stinging after application. With the Happy Pores toner, I never got that stinging sensation and my face never felt too dry or tight after either. Love using this after washing my face and before putting on any other skincare product. This is good to get rid of any dead skin cells, to make sure whatever skincare product you put on after is well-absorbed by your skin. Smells super yummy too! If you're a fan of Bath & Body Works Cucumber Melon, you're going to love this! :)


4. Total Serum Potion in Gold Snail
On their website, it says this stuff contains amino acids of snails to repair skin and kill bacteria. Now, I don't know the specifics of that, but I'll tell you one thing - it did a good job of healing my acne scars in less than two weeks' time. Doesn't feel sticky at all, either. Oh, and as natural and as close to the ground this gets, the serum does not contain snail body parts, hehe! :)


5. Emu Oil
Emu Oil is all the rage these days because it's said to be the natural oil closest to human skin components, thus its ability to heal almost any skin issue. The oil is on the thicker side, so I normally use just half a pump of this on my face to moisturize at night. You'd think that this would break you out, but half a pump every night before bed actually helped clear up my acne and heal the scars. Sometimes, I'll spike my Bare It All Body Cream with a few pumps of this oil to give my skin an extra boost of moisture, especially when it's just waaay to hot and dry out! I've also heard that this does wonders at healing even open wounds/burn wounds and fading scars. I have yet to try that for myself, but I've seen pictures online and the results are outstanding!


6. Keep Safe Facial Sunscreen SPF35
I've found most facial sunscreens to be too thick, too greasy, and they have all broken me out at some point. The first time I applied this, I thought wow, this is prooobably going to break me out since consistency was on the thicker side. Surprisingly though, it sunk into my skin pretty quickly and didn't leave my face looking like a greaseball. No breakouts either. The only gripe I have with this is the packaging - I wish it came in a squeeze tube instead of a tub. With products for the face, I'm a bit more of a germophobe than usual - and I don't really like the idea of sticking my finger in just to get some product out.


7. Wrinkle Revenge Eye Cream
I've used several eye creams - mostly from Bobbi Brown and from Kiehl's and none of them felt as good and hydrating as this one! I apply this before bed and by morning, my eyes look and feel brighter and more refreshed. This is also a nice base for your undereye concealer as it keeps it from creasing or getting patchy throughout the day. :)


The absolute best part is that these products use only the frrreshest, most natural ingredients, so you can be sure that these will be good for you in the long run - no worries about whatsoever side effects brought about by chemicals! :) Overall, really, really happy with my new skincare regimen - I think this is finally the one I'll be sticking with for years to come. :)

Oh, and in case you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm obsessed with the entire brand! So obsessed that their official website is bookmarked on my desktop, laptop, and phone! Have also been trying out (& falling in love) with their suuuuper yummy, handmade soaps. Any of their products tickle your fancy? Do share! :)

❤,
N

Back when I was still in corporate, there were times wherein my teammates and I had to go straight to an event after work. I worked in the telco industry and as you would expect, things usually are very hectic, leaving me with very little time to re-touch my make-up before heading out. So, if you've ever found yourself in the same situation, I've got you covered! I'm sharing with you 5 EASY steps on how to re-touch, refresh, and amp up your make-up. :)

1. Blot your face and do a light dusting of powder
After an 8-hour workday, your foundation is likely to have worn off already, especially in areas such as your T-zone. Blot your face with an oil control sheet to get rid of any excess oil. Paper towels work, too. After blotting your face, do a light dusting of your face powder, preferably one with some coverage. Blotting your face before going in with foundation will prevent your make-up from looking cakey. I also prefer to use a brush over a sponge whenever re-applying powder foundation. Brushes make for easy, even distribution of product. With sponges, if you're not careful, you can patch on a little too much foundation in one area of your face. And that's the last thing you want on a face that's had make-up on for the past 8 hours!

I love my Shu Uemura Glow Enhancing Powder Foundation, especially for touch-ups! Provides just the right amount of coverage, never looks cakey, looks juuust peeerfect!

2. Re-touch your brows
Day to day, I just lightly fill in my brows with either a brow powder or a pencil. If I'm going out at night, I'll darken them up just a liiiittle bit to give more definition. Re-defining your brows are always a good idea, especially if there are going to be pictures taken during the event!

3. Perk up them lashes!
It's been a long day. Show your lashes some love! Not a fan of piling on more mascara, so I recommend just re-curling your lashes to open up your eyes. Just do a few, gentle squeezes - nothing too harsh! Curling your lashes too hard, especially if they already have mascara on, will make them ping straight up in a very strange, unnatural way. So, gentle squeezes at the bottom, middle, and tip of your lashes is the way to go.

If you want your lashes to really stand out, tightline your upper waterline with a waterproof, black liner. This will make your lashes look that much thicker! (This is kind of cheating, since it's technically an extra step, but hey, who's counting?!) Love the NARS Larger Than Life eyeliner in Via Veneto for this! (Guys, this is the only liner which does not smudge on me, and I have really oily lids, so trust me on this!!!)

4. Contour
A MUST if you're going to any event with picture-taking. A more defined face makes you look more awake and just better, in the most subtle way! Like, when you notice a friend and think they got their eyebrows or hair or nose done, but they haven't, and you think, "What in the world???" That's contouring.

No need to go overboard here! With a light hand, I just go over the hollows of my cheeks, around my temples, jawline, and down the sides of my nose. My fave contour powder, by far, is NYX blush in Taupe. My fave brush to use for contouring is the #32 angled blush brush by Marrionaud.

5. Go bold on the lips!
The quickest, easiest way to take your make-up from day to night is with a bold lip. Makes you look all glammed-up, and takes no time at all! Creating a decent, well-blended smokey eye probably takes waaay more time than doing all of the above 5 steps.

What's a no-fail bold lipcolor? Red. Goes with any look, any outfit, and is perfect for any event! My fave is still the Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Stoplight Red. :)

I hope this has been helpful. I'll be back with my favorite peachy make-up products in preparation for the summer! :)

Always,
N

Mine is in the Shade 21

Comes with a puff that you're supposed to use to dab the product on to your face. Has a nice trap door-y, separator-y thingy to keep the sponge separate from the product. This is helpful in keeping things more hygenic, especially in between washes. :)

One dab, unblended

Blended in. Practically disappears/melts into your skin! :)

 To add a healthy flush of color to my cheeks, I dot some of this Ever Bilena Advance Lip & Cheeks Stain on and blend it in. Because it’s a stain, it barely feels like I'm wearing anything. The best part? It’s smudge-proof, so I can wear this all day, out and about, or lounging by the pool without worrying about any sort of smearing.

One small, tiny, baby dot of product goes a really long way with this!

This is the one baby dot blended in. See? :)

This is a really bad picture of the wand. I could not get my camera to focus! Posted this anyway because I wanted to show you. :)

One swipe each

I love one-shadow looks. They take no time at all to put together, yet you still look like you've 'made an effort.' For the last installation of my Valentine's Trilogy, I will be talking about MAC All That Glitters eyeshadow, which is a shimmery, pinky-champagne color which is easily one of my favorites, and one of my first MAC eyeshadows.

Couple of years back, I kind of went cray and jumped on the MAC bandwagon and started collecting MAC eyeshadows. I've mentioned previously that since then, numerous neutral palettes have come out - with qualities just as good, if not better, for just a fraction of the price you pay if you were to get similar colors all in MAC. Since then, my MAC eyeshadows have been sadly neglected, save for All That Glitters.

This shade is what I would call a stand-alone shadow, meaning I can use only this one color for my whole eye look. The shade is multi-dimensional, so it looks different from certain angles and in certain lightings. Sometimes it looks more pink, sometimes a more warm, champagne color, sometimes more rose gold. In the crease, it looks almost coppery, so it looks like you've spent more time on your look than you actually did. In a simple one-shadow look, this makes your complexion that much brighter and refreshed!

This color also works well in combination with other shades. I would typically use this as a lid shade and sometimes also in the inner corners of my eyes to make everything look even brighter! This color is so versatile, it works in any combination you could ever dream of, I promise!

Shimmery champagnes are quite the popular choice for eyeshadows. Pretty much all brands will have their own version. Some which I've found to be close dupes for MAC All That Glitters are: 1) eyelid shade from Wet N Wild Walking on Eggshells eyeshadow trio, 2) Revlon Nude Slip satin eyeshadow, and 3) Stila Kitten.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some product shots and swatches! :)

L-R: 1-MAC All That Glitters, 2-eyelid shade from WNW Walking on Eggshells, 3-Revlon Nude Slip, 4-Stila Kitten

The eyelid shade from Wet N Wild Walking on Eggshells is just a tad pinker. Revlon Nude Slip has the same warm shimmers running through it, and is very similar in tone, but leans just a smiiiidge more bronze. These two I would say are the closest in the bunch - if you were to use Revlon Nude Slip on one eye and MAC All That Glitters on the other, I bet you won't even be able to tell! Stila Kitten is also very similar in color, but with a whole lot more shimmer. The shimmers in Kitten are also more silvery, so although color is very close, Kitten looks a lot cooler than All That Glitters. (Note: I have Stila Kitten in smudge pot form which is a cream shadow, but the shade is also available in powder eyeshadow form.)

I hope you enjoyed my Valentine's Trilogy and had a great Valentine's weekend! ❤

The nude-baby pink lip was all the rage some years ago after a photo of Kim K sporting a nude pink lip came out. Word's out that the lipstick she wore in the picture was MAC Angel. For PART 2 of my Valentine's Trilogy, I will NOT be talking about MAC Angel. Instead, I will be talking about MAC Creme Cup, which is Angel's classier, more subdued and sophisticated sister.

Here's the picture I was talking about:

Note: Photo is not mine. Credits go to the rightful owners.

I bought MAC Creme Cup quite a few years ago, but only very recently figured out the best way to wear it!

L-R: one swipe only, built up with 3 swipes

Off the bat, it's a creamy nude-y baby pink with slight blue undertones. The formula is a Cremesheen, so you can expect great color payoff from it while still being moisturizing. In comparison to MAC Angel (which I also shamelessly own) Creme Cup is more nude than pink. Angel has stronger pink tones in it. They're very, very similar, though! On your lips, you can't even tell the difference. You definitely want to get only one or the other, though. You really don't need both! (But if you're a hoarder like me, then be my guest! Hehe)

Fairer skin tones can certainly handle piling this on to get an opaque, nude pink lip. Piling it on doesn't quite work for my warm, Asian skintone though. Because I'm medium-skinned, too thick a layer can make the color look almost pasty. Also, piling it on intensifies the blue undertones in this, and I just found that to look a bit awkward against my warm skin. Ever since then, I sort of just pushed this to the back of my drawer and forgot about it. Late last year though, I came across this again and decided to wear it to work the next day. What I did was just a quick light sweep on my bottom lip, and another on my top lip, then blend, blend, blend it in with a finger, and VOILA! A very clean, classy. nude lip (that doesn't make you look dead and) that just makes you look so, so fresh. So office-appropriate, too! I got many compliments from my office mates that day I wore it.

If my little sister (let's pretend I have one) were meeting her boyfriend's mom for the first time, this is the lipstick I would get her to wear! It's pretty, sweet, subdued, classy, clean, and fresh, all at the same time!

I'll be back with PART 3 of my Valentine's Trilogy! Clue: it's another lip product! :)